A new InvestigateTV+ report says the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides medical care to 9/11 survivors and responders, is dealing with a backlog of claims after staffing cuts tied to DOGE. Critics of the cuts say survivors are seeing delays in medical screenings and cancer treatments. The Department of Health and Human Services told lawmakers in April that the program is approved to staff up to 120 positions by rehiring 37 employees, so relief may be on the way, but slowly.
The same reporting turns to Louisiana, where the Mississippi River Delta’s 2.7 million acres are among the fastest-disappearing landscapes on Earth. Anyone who watches our own Gulf beaches shift with every storm and red tide season understands what coastal loss looks like up close. The episode also covers the national school bus driver shortage, with driver counts down nearly 10% from 2019 to 2025, which has meant canceled routes and longer walks for kids in districts across the country.
The story we’d most like to see copied here at home: seventh graders at Winneconne Middle School are painting pet portraits to help shelter animals get adopted. It’s a simple classroom project with a real payoff for animals waiting on a family. What local school or group do you think should try something like this? Let us know.
